Gavrilovo

60°36'40"N 029°04'56"E

runway: 13/31 - 2400x20m - asphalt

The Gavrilovo highway strip was an emergency (wartime) airfield 100 kilometers northwest of St. Petersburg.
The airfield was part of the Veshchovo airfield complex, built around 1960, at the height of the Cold War.
It was part of probably the most expensive and extensive construction of a military facility in the Leningrad region.
The M-10/E18 Scandinavian highway was constructed with the built in facilities for an alternate airfield for Veshchovo air base.
Although it is not known if the highway strip was ever used during exercises, it is known that Soviet Air Force jets were frequently observed making practice approaches.
Flying only meters above the active highway, they would power up to head northeast for a landing at Veshchovo air base.


No photos of the airfield while in use have been located


When Veshchcevo air base was abandoned, the same happened to the highway strip.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has reapplied a new layer of asphalt.
Also, lightpoles have been erected, making it impossible to use the runway for exercises.
The terrain is still recognisable though.
The aircraft parkings and both ends of the runway are still existing.





Overview of the highway strip in 2010 (Google Earth)